1970: Alice Walker first hears of the writer Zora Neale Hurston, a long-forgotten African-American writer of the Harlem Renaissance. She comes to admire Hurston's gift for giving voice to poor black women, and determines to read all her work.

Today: Because of Walker's efforts, Hurston biographer Robert Hemenway, and others, all of Hurston's work is in print, and widely anthologized and taught.

1973: The United States Supreme Court declares that forbidding abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy is unconstitutional. Prior to this, abortions are illegal and often unsafe "backalley" operations. Walker herself has undergone such an operation, but for most women the procedure is unavailable.

Today: Abortions are safe and widely available for American women who wish or need to limit the size of their families. Contraception is also inexpensive and easy to obtain.

1967: Walker's husband, the attorney Melvyn Leventhal, is one of many educated...